NetSuite moves up the food chain

Little fish getting bigger

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NetSuite is celebrating the release of the latest version of its CRM software by signing its first 1,000 seat deals and expects to double the size of its UK workforce in the next few months.

The firm offers smaller businesses a CRM package delivered over the Web; typically its customers have been SMEs with between 100 and 500 staff. But CEO Zach Nelson credits more functionality with attracting larger customers.

He told The Register: "The mid-market is where we've done best but we're signing our first 1,000 seat deal in the US and hopefully our first 1,000 seat deal in the UK on Friday."

"In our first six months in the UK we did a year's revenue. This year we have brought in five times as much revenue as we expected. We have 20 staff in the UK and will increase that to around 45 by early next year."

NetSuite has about 300 customers in the UK.

NetSuite offers bundled CRM and ERP packages accessed via a website. Nelson said the web delivery model used to be "the rock we had to push up the hill", but customers now understand the benefits better. The new release has better functionality for wholesalers and distributors. It has better lot management for pharmaceutical and engineering companies. It has a better financial and accounting package and an "upsell manager" which makes sales suggestions based on items other customers have bought. Ecommerce software allows staff to track what individual customers are doing on your website in real-time.

Nelson said the firm would begin expansion into Europe later in the year, starting with Germany.

Products are sold both directly and through resellers: in the UK 35 per cent is sold through partners. NetSuite has worked in the UK for just over a year. Nelson said the company's main competitors are Sage for back-end systems and salesforce.com for the front-end. ®